Style Blogs & Social Media

”is instagram killing the personal style blog?” was the question that titled my most recent email from Fashionista.com, ”and why should readers (and advertisers) go to a blog when they can get the whole experience on social media?” several words in this headline caught my eye and grabbed my attention. and the read itself did not disappoint either – thank you Alyssa Vingan

‘I honestly don’t remember the last time I visited a personal style blog. But I can tell you, with relative certainty, that I am still more knowledgeable than most about the day-to-day happenings of the blogosphere’s biggest personalities: I know who went to Governors Ball, who traveled across the world on an exotic vacation (with all expenses likely paid) and who recently went on a shopping spree at her local Saint Laurent store—but most importantly, I know what they were wearing while they did it. So how, you may ask, am I privy to this information? One word: Instagram.

I spend way more time than I’d like to admit on the social network — and I know I’m not alone. More and more, bloggers, editors and industry tastemakers have been flocking to Instagram to share their outfit details and brand info before they put them on their respective sites, making it the first place many fans and consumers can see (and shop) what they’re wearing.

Since readers are able to get the full experience of many personal style blogs via Instagram without even visiting the sites themselves, it seems likely that traffic on those sites would dip. Brands, too, would presumably, then, prefer to buy advertising on Instagram. But does the social network have the power to make the personal style blog entirely obsolete?